Fresh camel's milk is popular throughout the Middle East,
Holland, the UK and the United States but it has not been widely available in
Australia.

"Some stockists are doing extremely well … but the
Australian market will always be limited because of the cost of product, we
never expect we are going to rival cow milk in the long term," Mr Chance
said.

The dairy plans to double its production within a year and has
approval to take on another 250 camels.

Stage two of the expansion plan is to tap export markets for
frozen and powdered camel dairy products.

Turning
wild camels into milking machines

There are an estimated 750,000 wild camels roaming Australia's
deserts, with millions spent on aerial culls.

"We think there is a
better way, an opportunity to actually treat camels the way they should be
treated. Because they are beautiful creatures, very affectionate and actually
quite intelligent," Mr Chance said.

Rather than seeing them as a pest, the dairy takes on pregnant
females and domesticates them for milking.

Dairy manager and cameleer Stephen Geppert trains the camels
once they are mustered and trucked in from near Warburton.

"I get them to accept me as part of their pack and then as
top of the pack and then I teach them what is acceptable and unacceptable behaviour,"
he said.

"To me they feel like
800-kilogram puppy dogs, very very friendly, but they are rather
powerful."

Camel Milk Victoria was recently singled out at the CHOICE
Shonky Awards for making false claims about the health benefits of camel milk.

The WA venture is taking a more cautious approach.

"We are working with West Australian universities, to try
and get some Australian generated clinical evidence of the benefits other
people that have claimed," Mr Chance said.

Camel dairy proposed for WA

Australian first

A company backed by WA’s former agriculture minister Kim Chance wants to build
Australia’s first commercial camel dairy 160km north of Perth.

Camilk Australia Pty Ltd intends to produce more than 1000 litres of camel milk
a day from a farm in Yathroo for the Australian health food market.

If successful it would be Australia’s first commercial camel dairy, with up to
450 camels kept on 793ha.

Proponents claim camel milk, which sells for $20-$25 a litre, is akin to human
breast milk for its nutritional benefits.

Calamunnda Camel Farm in WA and another farm in Queensland produce camel milk
on a small scale, but because it is unpasteurised it cannot be legally sold for
human consumption.

Camilk chairman and shareholder Mr Chance said the group was in talks with a
foreign investor to fund the plan. He declined to name the investor or say how
much was being raised.

Mr Chance said if the money was raised the operation could be up and running
within two months.

“It’s never been done before, ” he said. “This is the first commercial
operation in Australia. There are one or two backyard operations, but they’re
usually milking three or four camels.

“This will be the first one that aims to fill a commercial market. Our belief
is that the demand is very significant indeed but again that’s something we’ll
find out.

“Our production will step up gradually so we don’t get embarrassed by
oversupply.”

Camilk received planning approval from the Shire of Dandaragan last month and
has Health Department approval to pasteurise the milk on-site.

The camels will be selected from the State’s feral camel population and fenced
off on the farm.

The milk, along with an unpasteurised version, will be sold to health food
customers in WA, Melbourne and Sydney.

Mr Chance said the group’s financial projections were based on a yield of five
litres a camel a day. That would equate to 1125 litres a day or 410,625 litres
a year.

Camilk hopes to increase the average yield to 10 litres a day.

Mr Chance said he believed there was scope to expand and the market would
support production of about 3000 litres a day “but that was some years away
yet”.

Because camels calve every second year, 450 camels would equate to 225
producing at any given time.

CAMEL MILK

Who drinks it?

Camel milk has been drunk for centuries by the nomadic Bedouin and is sold by
Bedouin traders. Outside the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia it is
largely sold through health food shops. Camel milk farms exist in Europe and
the US.

How much does it cost?

Global prices vary but in Australia fresh camel milk costs $20-$25 a litre.
Amazon.com charges $US145 for six pints of fresh milk or $US120 for 420g of
powdered.

What are the perceived health benefits?

It has high levels of B vitamins, vitamin C and iron. Like other milk types it
also contains calcium and protein. Proponents claim it can help treat
everything from diabetes and autism to liver disease, acne, asthma and
arthritis.

What does it taste like?

Taste varies depending on the diet of the camel but it is said to taste saltier
than cow’s milk.